Transforming Strijp S: From Philips’ Industrial Site to New Residential and Creative Area

Abstract

In the contemporary city, the transformation of abandoned industrial landscapes offers great potential for experimentation and in creating new urban environments. Industrial heritage plays an essential role in this respect and it goes beyond its strong cultural and symbolic value. In fact, industrial-cultural heritage is able to re-enact people's capability to maintain the culture of the past while looking forward with appropriate and innovative design solutions. This paper focuses on the design of regeneration of the former Philips' electronic industrial area named Strijp S in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The master plan is pioneer in experimental rules on development areas due to the Crisis and Recovery Act (2010), a new Dutch law in response to development and economical crisis. The authors identify four criteria of analysis in order to show the complexity of this urban transformation and assess the results of this work-in-progress transformation. Moreover, it will discuss the challenges for industrial architecture/heritage when incorporating different objectives of redevelopment and to which extent the local dynamics are linked to the design of reuse. As conclusion, the paper will debate on the comprehensive urban framework, which puts forward sustainable design criteria, sets out principles in temporary and long-term reuse of the old buildings, and on their implication in terms of urban quality of indoor and outdoor spaces.